132161-f2p-player-fluctuations
Content ---- ---- ---- I have a great amount of respect for the artists, animators, vocal, sound and musical talents at Carbine. They are among the best in their respective fields. I have very little faith in the programmers and technical people, so I can't answer your question without coming off like a big meanie-pants. This game was never supposed to be F2P. It was never supposed to be a one-server game. Can it find a new life under totally different pretenses? Hopefully. Will it? That remains to be seen. | |} ---- ---- Well that's the real question, isn't it? That's up to their NCSoft Overlords. Overlords, who I am not afraid to point out, are merciless and brutal when it comes to under-performing games. I think everyone at Carbine and in the community understands that this is the last chance Wildstar will have to remain/become a viable commodity in the MMO marketplace. There is no third chance. This is it. It succeeds and the servers stay open another ten years, or it flops hard and fast and the game limps along another year or three before NCSoft pulls the plug. If I had to make an educated guess, based on historical performance of the Carbine staff? Well. Let's just say I am hopeful but not overly optimistic. | |} ---- What you're saying is that I should only log on in mid October to spare myself headaches? I know what to expect and I know I'm gonna be hyperventilating when I log in on Daemona. Knowing what to expect and seeing it are very different! I should play my Aurin esper just to add to the masses. :D | |} ---- Geez, Tex. Why don't you try being a little less cheerful? | |} ---- Oh I am plenty cheerful, just being realistic. Three months from now, if I am wrong, I will be the first person to admit it. | |} ---- Not to sound condescending, but do you REALLY think posts like this are going to help new players confidence in trying the game? Sometimes being "realistic" facilitates a self-fulfilling prophecy. | |} ---- Should the man lie about his realistic expectations of this whole endeavour? That'd be disingenuous. | |} ---- Would it be disingenuous, though? I like Tex and I know certain subsets of gamers can be awfully "realistic", but we should probably be careful about what expert opinions we spread on the forums to the world at large. Tex knows that, especially since we've been talking about what we can do help new players get involved and settled in the game in other threads. Tex probably was just speaking his mind, but what's on his mind is a pretty negative outlook and I notice Dassen hasn't posted again...Maybe It's much ado about nothing on my part. It's a double edged sword with an attempt to market a game twice. On one hand, some players will see the first fail and not give it another chance, but on the other hand, release and technically being live for over a year will still have given players a title to consider. Personally, I think Wildstar has some very good assets to offer new people and most of the things that forced people out before have been fixed, plus the added polish doesn't hurt. As others have said, I think we'll see a decent bump in population, then a slow dropoff over time (as with anything). However, I don't think the population will get as low as it is now again, assuming Carbine doesn't explode or something. So, overall, more of the lowest common denominator of players (as mentioned whiners, kids, etc - Although, I remember these being around since the beginning, so no major change), but bodies to fill the queue and some skilled players along with them. In other words, Wildstar has a lot of really good potential and I don't see anywhere it could go but up. As far as I'm concerned, population is all we need to make the game work at this point, then if they focus on further improving the game going forward, things could turn out pretty nicely. | |} ---- Timetravel and his group are the best raid and dungeon designers in the world, so maybe a less bit pessimistic would be nice as well and have faith in them | |} ---- Thnx for point number 6 , i wasn't sure what to do stay DOM(the best) or go for the Exile(most ppl play them) im going Exile :S | |} ---- ---- My opinion (for what it's worth), is that you should go with the faction you like best, not the most populated. That's how the game was designed. The likelihood that dominion are going to be too underpopulated at F2P seems pretty slim to me. People reading the meta and trying to just play on the more populated side is actually causing some issues in the game, atm. Besides, the faction with less pop get PvP queue pops more often... | |} ---- Please believe this is ALL that it is. I've been here a LONG time. You know this. You know I am a great fan of the game and community and that I'm here for the long haul. But I don't pull my punches or sugar-coat my thoughts. Maybe I should, as a self-appointed ambassador of the game, be a little less cranky as we close in on the transition. In fact, I know I should. I harbor the transition no ill-will and have walked back most of my early concerns to the point where I feel silly for ever being so negative and overly-dramatic. But seriously (and honestly) I was here at launch and I've been part of F2P transition in two other games that are still going strong. I know what to expect only because I've lived through it before. If I have offended anyone or given a poor impression, please forgive me. I am just plain-spoken and don't mince words when I have something to say. I know that can be off-putting and is easy to take the wrong way - but it's just my way. Best regards, one and all. | |} ---- No worries, amigo. I personally relish the chance to be curt when it shows up, I just think we need to mention the good with the bad and I hope I didn't sound like I was digging at you for what you said. If I didn't think you were just speaking your mind, I wouldn't have brought it up. I was here at launch too (and first beta as well) and I understand there are those kinds of people that are going to join and be obnoxious and lack understanding or context for any of it, but I see that as a necessary evil to get the good things. | |} ---- Were the raids and dungeons badly designed? They have been fixed as raids had a lot of bugs at release... But the problem with them was not design, it was the reward and gear systems that came with them. A lot of that has been adjusted but gear design is not tt's job. So tt and his team making engaging dungeons and raids doesn't instill confidence in me, at least. The game might not have been great at teaching people the core mechanics required in that content (hence protogames)... But again that's not the dungeon designers' problem, it's an overall game design problem. There are some people that have shown a bit too much lack of knowledge on the content they're in charge of and others who outright ignore experience from people actually playing their content. And tt and his team is not in that group of people. Considering he comes and even posts on concerns that aren't even his problem, he is definitely not one whose sincerity and passion I would doubt. Other people tho... So considering what's transpired over the last year and a half, being optimistic about some things and pessimistic about others is very realistic. | |} ---- ---- I loled at that............................ Because it's so true <_< . Edited September 22, 2015 by Mental Surge | |} ---- ---- You've been here for a long time... do you think it's people being "realistic" on the forums that turned folks away from the game? Tex is being honest, and to continue along that trend: the game will succeed or fail on its own merits, and the forums will not be responsible for that one way or the other. There are plenty of wildly successful games whose forums are wretched hives of scum and villainy. | |} ---- Yes, and those games can afford that kind of behavior. Wildstar is getting a second chance in a lot of people's eyes; very probably a last chance. I understand Tex was speaking his mind and it was done in that matter-of-fact, not-the-first-time type of way that those of us who have been here a while understand and empathize with (and can even appreciate), but when the OP comes in and says they're "sort of new to Wildstar", it's probably a good indication to not make a post that reads like nothing is going to be fixed because it never does and the game is going to be on it's deathbed again in three months. I don't agree with everything Tex said (or thinks), but I still like his posts and him and my intention was to see if I could reign the negativity back a bit with a joke. Again, I won't begrudge Tex for speaking his mind, but I question the practicality of saying it to someone who claimed to have limited experience with the game. That's not a good first impression and, in my opinion, not an accurate one either. Edited September 22, 2015 by Ratstomper | |} ---- ....guilty. ;) | |} ---- ---- ---- I've been advocating for f2p to keep the lights on for many months now, and some of the "can I take my beta character to the live servers" type stuff annoys me. The stuff that annoys most people isn't the fact that free players will be enjoying wildstar. It's the problems that were created with the giant f2p patch that we've barely had time to test and with which we still see lingering issues less than a week out from the patch going live. Seriously, go check out the f2p test forums. There's one thread about how someone doesn't want to go f2p, and the rest are about genuine problems that exist on the ptr. | |} ---- This seems like a Carbine problem more than a player problem. I've kept up with this game despite only having played in the beta til a day or two ago, and they've seemed to have one of the most arrogant and change-hating dev teams I've seen. | |} ---- On the subject of SWTOR, this is why I am fairly confident that Wildstar will do great after the transition. SWTOR's F2P model was abysmal when it launched, it's gotten better but it's still restrictive and especially compared to Wildstar's model it's still abysmal...Yet, it is extremely popular, and consistently turning in some of the highest profits on the MMO market especially within the "F2P" space. I know this is at least partially to do with the fact it's Star Wars, and another part BioWare yet those things would only be enough for most players until the novelty wore off and as I said before, it's success has been consistent. I see no reason why Wildstar should under perform, unless it's mismanaged, with no new content for a long time, etc. Wildstar is perfect for the F2P space for all the reasons the poster I quoted said, and I have been saying that since before it launched. I could never really understand why they went with a subscription only model in the current market, I still don't because current gen games with iconic IP's couldn't even succeed at it (SWTOR, Elder Scrolls Online, etc) so a no name original IP stood almost no real chance regardless of how good it was. Edited September 23, 2015 by Narcoleptic Turtle | |} ---- ---- To be fair, I've seen existing players drop the old MMO resume too. Though I like to take pride in my MMO resume of only GW2 and WS. | |} ---- ---- It's no different than the people who have been playing the game since launch whose answer to everything is "make the game even -more- unfriendly to new players and casuals! That will surely save this sinking ship! F2P players are scum! Increase the sub cost!". | |} ---- Damn it Tex, I'm gonna have to start following you around for this! | |} ---- Yeah, I don't like those guys, either. Of course, I've long held that the Uber-Leet portion of *every* MMO community is usually pretty much craptacular. | |} ---- I like the "this is how it was in beta, forever and ever amen" kinds of answers. I'm guilty of referencing beta time as well, but usually only to point out a recurring pattern of behavior. | |} ---- Notice the people who have historically been very lethal in their adherence to those days haven't had much to say since the announcements were made. ;) | |} ---- ---- Please tell me where I can subscribe to your newsletter that will keep me updated on this count. o/ | |} ---- I see what you did there! XD | |} ----